We broght an 1989 ABI Ace Pionneer in December last year, but being new to caravaning, fell into the trap of buying the first caravaning we saw without doing any homework!!!! We left with our new caravan, riddled with damp (unknown to us until we returned home) and without having a demonstration of how anything works - stupid i know.
We are fixing the damp problem ourselves but if anyone can shed anylight as how to make anything work it would be a great help -- literally how to get water form barrel to sink, and shower. How to power everything from battery (n.b we will using sites without electric hook up). Even how to hook up correctly!!
Send me a email and tell me what appilances you have fitted, the make ( and model if possible ) and i'll see if i can find the manuals for you . Where abouts in the UK are you .
Hi abi89, sorry you got a bad van,There is lots of legal advice on here about buying damp van thats not fit for purpose,and what your rights are, To get water from barrel into van,you should have a pump with hose and 12Volt electric connection that pushes int the side of van(under one of the flaps outside van), there should be some kind of control panel in van(or switch this may be 3way switch with symbol of car and caravan the off position is in center) when towing this switch is put to the car symbol, on site this is put to caravan symbol, there will be other 12volt switches that says pump,lights, water heater (gas,only switched on when running heater off the gas),other switches will be for AC240v lights,fridge and water heater (The fridge should be 3 way unit= can work off 12volts while towing AC or Gas when on site, and water heater can run from AC or Gas). Now to get water into van, make sure battery connectet and fully charged,plug pump into side of van,put pump into barrel,switch on the pump switch on control panel,and turn on the tap furthest away from pump(should hear air being pushed through the pipe,when steady flow of water from tap,close tap and do same with the rest of taps.(Do Not switch on the water heater on Gas or AC until you have water to all your taps). EHU, take your hook up cable and push it into the socket(should be next to battery)Switch off the Main Circut breaker on the fuse box,then plug in the other end of hook up cable into AC supply,then re set Main Circuit breaker in van. Gas connection, fit regulator onto gas bottle (check it has gas) and open valve,check all valves in van are in open position.(Gas will take 30sec. or so to fill the system,) test by lighting the rings on gas hob, if all works ok, then you can test out water heater,and fridge,and heater if you have one. Hope that helps till some of the abi owners come along with the instructions for your van good luck. PS took me so long to type ,I've been beaten to it, any way you have the right guys now.
------------- If everything runs smoothly then I must have done something wrong
If in Doubt Check it Out.
The water heater in an '89 'van will probably be gas only and there may not be a switch for the pump fitted; it may just come from the battery hopefully through a fuse but after 22 years of diy repairs, the state of the wiring could be any one's guess.
The fridge should only work on 12 volts when towing, but it's not unknown for someone to have rewired it to the leisure battery as had happened with my last caravan. Always make sure the fridge is not left on 12 volts when not being towed or it will flatten the battery in no time. Whilst on the subject, if you are leaving the car and caravan hitched up for a long time, I would recommend turning the fridge off or disconnecting the 12S. Whilst the power should be cut to the fridge pin on the 12S socket, it is quite common for the split charging relay to stick, potentially flattening the car battery and leisure battery if the fridge is left on.
Its an 80s caravan, don't bother with a tap, fill the sink from a plastic can. Use a couple of battery lanterns. I've never even tried the ehu on mine, beats electrocution. Most important is reliabilty of running gear. Make sure brakes/hubs/coupling are serviced & tyres are new. Works for me. Fortunately mine was dry.
Thanks everyone for the advice - the van did come with some very miss match manuals that i have been trying to figure out. One last question how do you go about charging your battery???
The 'van battery should be wired to charge from the grey 12s lead to car while towing. It may or may not have a charger fitted to charge while plugged into ehu.
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Topic: How to use our caravan???
